Mortgage lenders could be forced to place up to $5 trillion of off-balance sheet securitized assets back on their books under a plan by accounting standard-setters to eliminate qualifying special purpose entities, or QSPEs. The Mortgage Bankers Association expressed concern that depriving special purpose entities of their “qualifying” status, as the Financial Accounting...
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Financial trade associations pummeled the federal government’s proposed reform of Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act regulations with clamors for withdrawal or suspension of the rulemaking, as the extended comment period closed last week. The adversarial response by reform stakeholders once again showed the deep divisions and the difficulty of achieving consensus on...
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Business relationships and credit ratings practices are about to undergo a major overhaul as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Attorney General’s Office acted in tandem to improve transparency, accountability, and competition in the credit rating industry. Last week, the SEC proposed changes to the MBS ratings and disclosure...
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Major providers of seller-assisted downpayment funds are gearing up for another showdown with the federal government over the controversial programs. Last week, AmeriDream, Inc. and the Nehemiah Corp. of America issued separate statements criticizing a...
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The mortgage industry will see a final rule on Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act reform before President Bush leaves office, although a White House directive to all agencies wants all regulations finalized by Nov. 1. In remarks launching National...
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Non-exempt lenders who acquire foreclosed properties will have a full year to reduce their bulging inventory of vacant foreclosed properties as federal housing regulators eased anti-flipping rules to facilitate faster sale of REOs. The temporary policy would...
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A New York Supreme Court judge has stalled a foreclosure action against a minority borrower on grounds that the loan was a higher-priced loan and presumptively discriminatory. Ruling in M&T Mortgage Corp. v. Jahn Foy, et al, Judge Herbert Kramer of the Supreme...
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Illinois. A controversial subprime-tracking program in Cook County... South Carolina. The state’s Department of Consumer Affairs and the.... Idaho. Department of Finance Director Gavin Gee has signed a... Vermont. On May 28, Gov. Jim Douglas signed S.B. 284, which...
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Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.: Third-Party Relationship Guidance. The FDIC issued guidance on June 6 discussing the types of... Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.: New Mortgage Metrics Report. On June 11, the OCC released its first Mortgage Metrics Report, which...
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In his first major speech after being sworn in as the 14th Secretary of the Department of... Last week, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs held... A month after suing three lenders for allegedly breaking into its client...
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